SLAM Magazine
SLAM Magazine is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994, published by Slam Media Inc. SLAM was launched in 1994 as a basketball magazine that combined the sport with hip hop culture at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly popular. It was founded by publisher Dennis Page at Harris Publications, and he hired Cory Johnson to be the first Editor in Chief. Its first issue had a cover story on Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets (written by future Fortune editor Andrew Serwer) and a feature on University of California freshman Jason Kidd. Many of the magazine's lasting features, such as In Your Face, Slam-a-da-month, and Last Shot all began with that first issue. SLAM's ownership has changed several times. Peterson Publishing bought SLAM in 1998. The next year, Peterson was acquired by British publisher EMAP. In 2001, EMAP sold its US division to Primedia. When Primedia left the magazine business in 2007, current owner Source Interlink acquired a majority of the company, including SLAM. The magazine carries advertising for basketball related products, street-wear clothing and hip hop music, and has been credited with helping to market hip hop culture and basketball as one. SLAM has featured the biggest names in basketball on its cover, in articles, and on its famous SLAMups posters. To date, only one female athlete has ever appeared on the SLAM cover – Chamique Holdsclaw in October 1998. "A Basketball On Fire" was the 1st cover without a player in February 2012. The magazine is now available to international (non-US) NBA fans, with special editions printed in some territories, and the addition of SLAM to digital stores, such as iTunes. Magazine features *'"Trash Talk"' – readers give their love to SLAM or share some beef they had with the last magazine, and selected letters are put in this section. *'"SLAMADAMONTH"' — a short article describing a slam dunk accompanied by a photograph of the play. This feature usually features a dunk performed by an NBA player, but has featured college players in the past. The first SLAMADAMONTH (Spring 1994 issue) featured Chris Webber dunking on Charles Barkley. *'"NOYZ"' — a series of one-line jokes commenting on recent basketball events, written anonymously. The first NOYZ column appeared in the March 1995 issue. *'"Last Shot"' — a former back-page column documenting a game-winning shot during a game. This feature was discontinued after the January 2000 issue. *'"SLAM Magazine's top 75 NBA players of all time"' — released in 2003. *'"SLAM Magazine Old School"' – Released in 2005. *'"What's My Name?' - SLAM fans make nicknames for NBA players and if they win they get a prize from the slam vault. *'"The SLAM high school diary"' — In 1994, SLAM began a tradition of choosing a highly talented high school basketball player to keep a monthly diary recording their accomplishments as they moved toward playing college or professional basketball. *'"Trash Talk"' — Readers' letters to the editor are posted here, with occasional comments by the editor. *'Rookie Diary' – The Rookie Diary is held by a new NBA rookie yearly, as they speak about their first experiences in the league. External links *SLAM's Website Category:Content